fight the good fight part 2
by julia bebop
Summary: still Al needs to learn about keeping his life in check. yet, a bump in the road nearly costs him his sight
1. Chapter 1

He knew about the state taking innocent lives off the streets and turning them into heartless soldiers. It was too grim to even think. Although, the older man thought on how did Al become a walking, talking suit of armor.

"I am being serious!" Al spoke up in mixed feelings from the past.

"Sorry, son…" the older man sighed. He tried to to remain curious. "I have heard some stories in my past…yours is a whopper!"

Feeling that he was being made fun of Al became upset. He growled as he sat up straighter in the chair, "Look…my mom died of illness that I can't tell you what it was. I was very young…to understand what was going on. My brother wanted to learn all there is to know about Alchemy. So, we could bring mother back from the grave."

A raspy, "Al…" came from Ed's lips.

Al jerked to attention. What was Ed thinking of while he was dreaming. Was Ed trying to stop Ed from retelling the past sins of two young boys who wanted more than anything else in the world, but to see their own mother? He could not wake up his brother to ask that question.

Ed drifted back to a deeper realm of sleep. There was no way of reaching until the morning. The man apologized gently before leaving the room. Al watched over his brother for the night. He to get to the bottom of everything which was going on before Ed got better.

The next morning was cool. The weather could not make up its mind for the day. It wanted to be warm, yet the rains were coming and people wanted a good harvest.

Ed heard the sounds of the old house as it began to wake up. He lay in bed with a knotted stomach. He wanted to know what happened to him. He heard Al talking to someone. He wondered who Al was talking to. Ed breathed slowly, letting his lungs fill up before slowly releasing the air from his lungs. He licked his lips as he thought. Then, he croaked, "Al?"

Al had the door opened all night long. He knew the doctor who ran the clinic stayed on the same floor as his parents. He wanted to make sure Ed was doing fine. Al said as he entered the room, "What's wrong, brother?"

Ed managed to say with his voice gaining a little bit of strength, "I'm thirsty…"

"Oh?" al said as he came up to his brother's bed.

"Yea," Ed sighed loudly. The pain of inside of his head was so terrible; he was going to scream for relief. Wanting to move if only for a few seconds seemed to be the most agonizing thing Ed had done in a while. He gritted his teeth as he tried to sit up in bed.

Watching Ed made Al worry deeply. He said sounding like Al was the older brother with a voice sounding cold and harsh, "Stop that!"

"Wha…" Ed gasped between breaths. His limbs belted out the rhythms of his heart beat. He was going to stop with the idea of trying to sit up.

"You need to not move, brother!" Al scolded. He reached over to place the hand on Ed's right shoulder. "You are so stupid…"

"What?" was Ed answer? He was not upset with everything that was happening to him. He tried to let things get him upset. He had to be strong for himself and Al. "I am going to be hurting if I just sit here!"

"Are you that stupid…" Al scolded for a second time.

"No…I am just sore that's all!" Ed sapped back. He tried top push the pain from his mind as he many an effort to move out of bed. He slowly pushed myself up with all of is efferent split between the agony of sitting up and the will to sit up on his own. He didn't want to be marked as a cry baby. He had enough of crying when he lost his mom. He also cried in angered hot tears the lost of his arm and leg due the fact of the transmutation went horrible wrong. He knew how to hurt his brother with memories. Yet, he didn't want to hurt Al. he knew if they broke up then, it could spell trouble not only for them, but the rest of the world as they knew it. He began to take in deep breaths. His mind counted until the pain leased. He said after what was a five minute jag of agony, "Gomen!"

"I want you stop with all the stupid ideas that you are a sort of superman!" Al scolded for a third time. His voice sounded even colder. He wanted Ed to slow down a little.

"You can't realize what is going on with me…then; we can't go back to central just yet!" Ed huffed, trying to turn his face away from Al. He knew Al was still a young boy who needed looking after even if his should was trapped in a large suit of armor.

Then, the two became still and quiet. They didn't want to speak. There was nothing remotely to even think about. This was a time of healing for Ed. Ed felt like something was tearing him from the inside out.

Roy stood on the train platform like the hundred of times in the past. The decision of finding the two Erlic brothers had to be on his priors list. He pulled out his pocket watch. The time was standing very still. There was nothing he could do at this time until he boarded the train. Flipping the cover open on the pocket watch, Roy scolded the watch in a quiet whisper. He said, "Why did this even happen?"

In the distance, Roy could hear the noise of children playing in the opened air, waiting room. He wondered why the children where playing near such a dangerous place. Letting his mind drift to Ed and Al, Roy thought of the ideas behind coming to the Erlic brothers'. Was it because of their father? Was it because of own their achievements? He shook his head at the mere thought. He knew that the two brothers were designed by fate to be who they were.

Hughes walked up to Roy very carefully in order not to cause any suspicion from the passerby. He didn't want to make any waves as the inner party of King Bradley where always looking over someone else's shoulder.

"You early…" was Roy's answer as the two men stood next to each other on the platform. He glanced over to see Hughes dressed in a grey coat and matching scarf.

Hughes heard the children playing in the distance. He wondered about his own daughter. She was just two or three now. Will he be able to see her grow up? He dreamed about that since the day he had held her in his arm for the first time. The war between the two factions was getting sticky. "Yea, the wife was wanting to some deep cleaning in the up stairs and she woke me out of bed at the crack of dawn!" Hughes smiled sleepily.

"And?" Roy asked, shaking his head slightly. He didn't want anything to do with home and hearth for the time. Although he did have some feelings for Riza, yet he didn't want to announce to the world just at the time. He was a little bit of a womanizer which drove Riza into states of quiet complete and utter dismay.

"She wanted me to clean out the yard first…right before breakfast," Hughes sighed with a grin. He was thinking of his one and only daughter. She was bound with great determination to help daddy with the yard work. The grin became deciduous as Hughes said, "My little girl was there to help me!"

Worn to the very last fiber of his being from all the daddy talk from Hughes, Roy had to cut to the quick. He asked, "What did you hear from Central!"

Hughes changed mood on a dime. He gasped, "Uh?" His face hung opened mouthed. He tried to remember everything that he had heard. Then, he became serious. He said, "What I heard is there was a shape shifter roaming the area!"

At first Roy wanted to laugh at the ridiculous answer he just heard. A shape shifter was roaming in the area. Where…what area? He shook his head as he said, "Have you been reading those ghost stories again!"

Feeling a bit perturbed, Hughes growled, "no…I've not!"

"Yea, right…" Roy started to say as he folded his arms over his chest over with a smug glare on hiss face. Then, the two heard the noise of an oncoming train. They turned to see to the training come rolling down the tracks. With a look of disgust of traveling for no real reason Roy sighed, "This must be it!"

"Are you sure?" Hughes asked in a caution of voice.

"I wasn't expecting to leave at this time…" Roy shook head with dismay in his voice. He didn't want to leave his troop behind.

"Yea…what's all leaders say when they are forced into a corner they can't fight out of!" Hughes shrugged.

"And your point being?" Roy quipped at his friend.

"I have seen before…but different salutations!" Hughes shrugged for the second time. Then, he carefully searched in his jacket pocket for an envelope. He found it inside of his with a gentle tug of his fingers. He said, "Here…"

"What?" Roy asked with a surprise tone of voice. He wanted to know why Hughes was handing him a packet. What was inside of the envelope?

With a glance of anxious gaze, Hughes said, "Read it when you are on the train and far from here!"

Feeling like this was part a joke and part the real thing, Roy spluttered, "W-w-what?"

He was cut off by the sound of the train whistle. The train was now slowing down as it entered the station. Large clouds of white smoke were enclosing the area inside of the train station. Hughes watched as Roy went for the envelope. He shook his head as his eyes met with Roy's. He didn't want to get into serious danger of caught. It was best not to let things get out of hand while in the station. Roy stopped himself before his fingers even felt the edge of the protruding envelope. Turning his face in the direction of where Hughes was standing, Roy was surprised to see Hughes bolting out from sight. He didn't want to be caught with such possible explosive matter that he had to risk his own life in passing it to someone else.

Roy's hand slowly dropped from his jacket pocket as the train ground to a stop in front him. A large plum of grey smoke danced around his ankles with a warmth that did not stay too long. It was a sign like spring; it was there for just a heart beat before leaving the land space as a fond, distance memory.

Roy heard people departing from the train as the doors were slowly pushed open. Others were beginning to move forward as if they were told to move up towards the train by an unseen being. He knew other lives were at stake at the time. He closed his jacket over the envelope with a causes glance the passersby before walking over to the entrance of the train.

The room were Ed was recovering had been quiet. Ed was trying to let the medicine do its job. He was half asleep with the effects of the drug playing on his mind. What was he thinking about?

Then, he heard a voice calling out for him. It called out, "Ed…Ed…Ed…where are you?"

He felt like shouting out, "Here." Yet something was holding him back.

"Edward…Elric!" the voice called out, this was a little sharpness in the voice.

There was a hint of a sting in Ed's mind. It sounded like his mother, Trisa calling out for him. The voice of scolding was used he and Al were bad. He looked around see if she had been standing around, waiting for him.

"Ed…" her voice snapped.

"Mom…I'm here!"

His voice surprised him with a double tone. What was going on? Was he speaking with two voices instead of one? He spun around so quickly in his mind, that Ed wondered if he had been dreaming or not.

Then, the image of him as a small boy came into view. He had been five or six at the time when he was just starting to ask questions about his father. He had been playing at the shoreline near the river. He could feel warmth that he hadn't felt in a long time. He wanted to touch his mother who was now standing close to him. He wanted to apologize to her for all things he had done. He didn't to leave. Yet, the smaller version of himself stopped next to him and asked, "Where's daddy?"

"Oh," Trisha sighed, placing a hand up to her forehead. She gave a shake of her head sighed, "Edward!"

The smaller Edward was covered in sand and mud. It had been apparent that he and Winry were playing in the mud. To him, it seemed fun. Yet, Trisha was busy with her housework. There were some people who were going to visit her from village. They wanted to see the boys and her. They felt bad for her since her husband had left her for reasons she wasn't clear on. She was busy all morning long. Ed wanted to play outside. He knew Trisha was dusting and mopping in the early morning. There was so much to do. She didn't want Ed or Al getting under foot. After breakfast, she ordered them to go outside and play near the house. Al wanted to play near the house.

On the other hand, Ed wanted to explore as much as he could. He was a very typical little boy. Yet, he had a little bit of studying to do. He had begun to read. His mother was teaching him how to read. The school in the village wasn't allowing children in until they had reached the age of six. Ed was an only four and half. He wanted to grow fast and learn as much as he could. Ed took a book that had been an easy to read book. He had tucked underneath his shirt before leaving he house. Then, he took off in a flash. He had stopped over at the kitchen to grab some cookies from the cookie jar. He knew Winery liked his mom's cookies. Then, he stopped in the living room where Al was playing with his toys. Ed asked Al if wanted to play with him at the river bank. Al didn't want to leave. He was having too much fun with his toys. Ed sighed with a dismayed gaze in his eyes, "O.k. suit yourself!"

With that Ed hit the door with a boundless energy. He took off for the river bank. He heard his mother calling out to him. He told his mother in a loud voice, "Mom…I'm going to the river!"

Trisha wanted to keep an eye on Ed. Ed was too quick for her to catch up. She didn't' want to be bothered by trying to play to his wishes. She had to get the house cleaned before the guests would be on her doorstep.

The older Ed felt the world snipping around so quickly, that he was afraid of getting sick in the process. He was now standing a very familiar place in his past. It was the front room to the house that he and Ed grew up. The shook struck him hard. Everything he knew and remembered was not burnt up. He stared in wonder at the room. The room was clean. Trisha was proud of herself. Ed and al were not getting into the room to mess up the floor with toys. The older Ed was trying to get a grip on what was going through his mind at the time. "Where am I?" he wondered in his mind.

"The time and place are yours…yet you are still looking for something that is not there!" a voice said in his mind. It sounded so calming, it too Ed by surprise. He gasped trying to figure out where he had heard it before.

"Wait!" he called out in the room, looking wildly around. He wondered if he was going to break free from this dream. He needed to find the Philosopher's stone and quickly. He had to see about contacting Lt. Mustang. He started to walk around. Everything had a place and a place for everything. It was like his mother was still alive. The ticking sound of a wall clock was the only thing he could hear. He stared at two young boys now, napping on a large over stuffed sofa. It was after three when he and Al still took naps once in a while. They had so much energy, that Trisha made them go outside for long periods of play. Even during the winter, Ed had fun.

A female voice sighed deeply with a tone of satisfaction. It startled Ed as his ears picked up the noise. He turned to see a young and heath Trisha Elric standing right in front of him. His lips became dry as his mouth hung opened a little. His mouth hurried about as he tried to figure on how to speak. She walked towards him with a smile that was filled tender warmth. He faintly gasped, "Mom?"

Trisha stood very close her oldest son and said, "Yes…Edward!" she wanted to cry as she gazed at her son. "Look at you…you are nearly a man!"

Unable to place words into a good speech, Ed nodded and said, "Thanks mom!"

"Yet, you look so thin!" Trisha teased with a chuckle.

"Mom!" Ed winced. He didn't mind being called thin, yet being called short was a different story.

"Well," Trisha rolled her eyes at her son. "…have you been eating?"

"Mom!" Ed winced for a second time. Then, he paused for a minute before sighed, "Yes…"

"Thanks good. Yet, that's why I didn't come here for!" Trisha said. Her words sounded important. She didn't sound like the gentle woman who gave Ed and Al life.

Ed was puzzled. Why did his mother say that? He knew he must be really dreaming. Yet, the things he had seen. Why were they coming back to him? His mother smiled and said, "I have wanted to say this for a long time…Ed!"

"I don't know why you are here with me," he said. Then, he looked his younger self. He remembered how he had played with Winry for hours. When he came home, he was given a bath and scolding at the same time before lunch. He was covered from head to toe with mud and dirt. He was lucky that no one showed up from the village at the time. He kind of remembered the day. Yet, a young boy's remember could play tricks on him.

"I have something to tell you!" she sighed. Her eyes became sadden at the fact she wasn't going to be there for her son. She was going away for the second time. This time was in his mind. It was a very bad and dirty joke in his fevered mind to be playing upon.

Feeling in his mind swirling in the sea of emotions, Ed wanted to hug his mother. He did not want to let her go for a second time. He missed her deeply as he grew up. His friends, Al, the state, the military, even his teacher Izumi Curtis couldn't replace his mother. There was no replacement to the love and pain that Trisha had given life for which was now inside Ed at this very minute. He dared himself to speak, "What is it, mother?"

"This might be my last chance to see you!" she uttered. She fought the saddened inside of her. She knew by her own judgment and instances a force was going to take Ed for a long and difficult struggle.

"Mom! What's it that...you want to tell me?" Ed gasped. He felt the warmth of his mother's touch. He was trying to figure out why was she here. This was still his mind. He was still asleep. He needed to figure out why he was picked to see her. Was there something about Ed that made him so special?

"You are a state Alchemist. They are going to take something from you!" she nearly cried. Her heart was breaking at the fact she had to lay out in front him.

His mind was stating to spin out of control. What was his mother talking about? He stared at his mother in a wild glare of disbelief. He sputtered, "W-w-what…mama!"

"You are the Full metal Alchemist," she questioned him. She remembered how he wanted to be like his father. He had been like his father in many ways. Yet, he was his own person. He had gone through life on his own merits.

"YEA…BUT, WIAT!" he screamed. His heart pounded so hard, he felt like he was going to die at the spot. He didn't want to do this. He was frightened at the fact no one was there outside of his mother was there to see him before he died.

Then, he felt the ground shake. Was this an earthquake? He couldn't fathom the idea of what was going on around him, under him and through him. He was knocked to the floor. Then, he felt her wind pulling at him in all discretion. He thought he was going to die. Then, it was all over. He opened his eyes to see Winry reading at his bedside. He felt the weight of the fever making him stay put. He said, "Winry?"

Winry heard Ed's voice and slowly closed the book. She said gently, "Ed…yes!"

She looked down at his sweaty face. His fever was still there. He tried to make sense of what had just happened. He wanted to make who ever made him sick to pay. Yet, he knew he needed to rest. Then, he looked up at Winry. Her face was so beautiful. He wanted to stare at for a long time. something was telling him to do it. He smiled weakly and said, "thank you!"


	2. Chapter 2

Then, he felt the ground shake. Was this an earthquake? He couldn't fathom the idea of what was going on around him, under him and through him. He was knocked to the floor. Then, he felt her wind pulling at him in all discretion. He thought he was going to die. Then, it was all over. He opened his eyes to see Winry reading at his bedside. He felt the weight of the fever making him stay put. He said, "Winry?"

Winry heard Ed's voice and slowly closed the book. She said gently, "Ed…yes!"

She looked down at his sweaty face. His fever was still there. He tried to make sense of what had just happened. He wanted to make who ever made him sick to pay. Yet, he knew he needed to rest. Then, he looked up at Winry. Her face was so beautiful. He wanted to stare at for a long time. Something was telling him to do it. He smiled weakly and said, "thank you!"

"For what?" Winry asked. Her heart was beating hard now. She felt a few tears on her cheek. She had talked it over with the doctor. He was convinced that Ed was going to be a vegetable state for the rest of his life if the fever grew hotter.

"For…being there!" he smiled. Then, he had felt his eyes grew heavily and he went back to a dark place called sleep. He had to go back to see if his mother Trisha Elric was still there.

Roy sat at the window seat, watching the landscape when the train stopped at a station. He heard the noises of the engine as the train halted. He wondered if this was the place where Al and Ed were. He got up from his seat to grab a cloth sack. His guise of a simple traveler was working. He had heard about this town from central. There were wild stories about people losing at one out of their three major senses.

He started to head towards the exit of the train. He had heard the people talking about things. He had to figure where to start. As he went through the car doors, he glanced to see if Winry or Al was there, waiting for him. He got off the train, knowing that he had to find one of the two and soon.

As Roy walked around the train station, he noticed a few normal things. Then, he kept on hearing a clanging noise. It was very noticeable. Roy quickly spun around to see Al standing next to him. Al said, "Cornel!"

"Ahh!" Roy said as he noticed the large suit of armor standing in front of him. He was retold by Al of what had happened to Ed. He didn't want to worry Roy for a minute but, there was no time to be messing around. This was a few steps shoved back to the near beginning of this little outing for Al and Ed. Roy asked, "What really happened to your brother?"

Al was thinking all this time about what really happened to his brother. He wanted to be the protector his older brother, Ed. Ed was always getting him out tough situations. They were very close. Yet, with this new twist of fate, he could be seeking out a cure for Ed which could drive them apart. He said, "I'm not really sure what had happened, but…"

Al's voice trailed off as he began to walk towards an exit. He knew Ed was ill and Roy wasn't going to beat around the bush for answers.

Roy followed Al a step or two behind. He could tell Al was speaking the truth. He had to get as much information as he could from Al and possibly the doctor who was treating Ed. He just wished Riza was there. She was his go between the state and normal people.

"What is always the biggest pain is when my boy.." a woman said as she talked to a friend who was walking next to her as two women walk up pass Roy and Al.

"I wanted to tell you, but not here…sir!" was Al's reply.

"Fine!" the enlistee man nodded.

Then, the two of them started to walk in the direction of the clinic where Ed was recovering.

Ed was sleeping so soundly, that Winry had to stop reading for a minute to see if Ed was still breathing. She reached over to place a hand on his chest with a careful movement. She didn't' want to wake him up. She felt his chest rise and fall with every breath. He was still looking inside of himself for his mother. She carefully and quickly removed her hand off his chest. She was relieved to see he was still with her.

There was a knock on the door. Winry turned to look up as the door opened. The first to enter the room was Al. he did not speak. He knew if he started to speak, then it would lead up to some sort of trouble for both himself and Ed.

"Oh…" Winry said as she knew what had happened in the past with her mum and dad when they were trying to save the people of the Ishtar. She was very young to being seeing the horrors of war from so very far away. She had to give up her bitterness for a little towards Roy. She had to understand, Roy was just following orders. She looked at the young military officer with a cold glare as he entered the room. She said, "I'll be outside for a little while!"

"Thanks Winry!" Al said. He could feel her contempt for Roy. He had to be careful. He did not want to start a fight in front of Ed.

Winry did even look at Roy when she got up off the chair. She had her eyes staring straight ahead at the door.

Roy shook his head in mixed sadness and confusion. Why did she hold such a grudge at him? He was just following orders like a good officer should. Roy sat down after taking the chair. He stared at Ed for a minute. To Roy, Ed didn't appear to be that strong. He noticed all of Ed's fortitude was gone. It was like an unknown force grabbed Ed and ripped every ounce his inner soul in a heartbeat, then, left him for dead. Roy breathed heavily as he asked, "Can you tell me what happened?"

There was not even a blink tossed at Roy's dictation from Ed. He knew Ed was either upset with him or quite ill. He said, "I'm not good at this!"

Ed had to smile inside. Roy Mustang was not good at listening to someone who is lower than he was in the ranks of the military. He said with a small turn of the head, "I'm not sure!"

Everything to Ed was a blur after the point of staying at the inn. He had Wirny had breakfasted at mid-morning. He had headed off to the library by himself. He knew there were a many books that he and Al had gone through before. He had kept a small record of them in his notebook. So, he was going to let Al go with Wirny to check out the local shopping area. All the while, there was a creepy feeling he had in the pit of his stomach of being watched. By whom he had wondered.

Then, everything went blank. He felt an illness like he never felt before. It showed no mercy to him. He was just another victim of this beast's list. The last thing he could remember was looking at both Wirny and Al before fainting.

Roy stopped Ed in mid-phrase. He asked, "You are just problem over work…that's my fault! I'm sorry!"

"Sorry?" Ed asked. His eyes opened slightly as he stared at Roy a little confused. "What do you mean sorry…I'll was the one who is looking for the stone!"

"Yea...but…" Roy said as he shifted uncomfortable in the chair. "You were ordered by me…I'd mean the Futher!"

"Yes…yet, I have my own reasons!" Ed sighed. He had struck a raw never could. He didn't want to admit to a simple thing like pride or even greed on his part. Yet, he loved his mother very much. Then, a thought struck him. What was going to happen to the search? Futher Braddley could be very upset if Ed did not come through with his search. "Give me some more time!" he sighed for the second time as his amber eyes blinked slowly.

"Why?" Roy asked slowly. It was like Roy felt his was being short changed with Ed's answer.

"It's because I have screwed up too many times. I have felt like I'm at the end of my rope and there is no way of climbing backup it!" Ed muttered. He placed a hand up to his face. He felt a headache coming on. He sighed, letting a wave of pain wash over him. He said, "I have been hoping for a clue to this stupid quest that you decided to put me and Al on. How stupid are you…really!"

Roy's nerves were scraped raw. He scolded as he glared, "what did you tell me, you little big mouth!"

His arms were folded so tightly over his chest, that Roy had a hard time trying to move. It was like something was forcing him to stay calm. His eyes were on fire with rage. He knew it wasn't his idea. Instead he was just following order like the rest of soldiers from Central. His eyes were now forced on Ed.

Ed was lying still. He fought with himself and this strange power which was starting to play him like a song. What was it really? Was it something that even he didn't know? Was he born with this strange power which lay dormant for years until now? Ed return Roy's glare back at him. He said, "What do you want me to do…I can't do much in the state I'm in!"

Roy nodded with a snarl. He knew Ed was right for now. He had to think of a way of getting around Ed's pride. This was no ordinary boy. He was completely a child of the Great home of light.

The nights were getting cooler. It wasn't like winter was just around the concern. Summer was still hanging on with a firm grip. Winry and Al sat on the steps leading up to the clinic's porch. There was nothing right now for either one of them to do. Ed was still with Roy. Beside the first one point of Ed being interviewed by Roy was going to take all night long. Al wanted to keep an eye on Winry. Winry was far from home like him and Ed. Yet, they could look after themselves because they were boys. Winry dispute being a tomboy was still a young woman trying to grow up.

Ed stared up at the night sky. He said, "I wonder if I find the hunter!"

"What?" Winry asked innocently. She never studied the stars in the same way Ed and Al did. She was always busy with learning her Grandma Pinako's trade.

"The Hunter…we had a couple of books that you could learn how to read the stars," Al said, trying to figure what was going on with the night sky.

Winry wondered if Ed and Al's father left all of his studies and books behind. There was the fire at their house. They wanted to start this anew with everything. They told Roy that they hated to leave their home, but their mother had died and Ed made a grave mistake. He remembered slightly what his mother would point out in the night sky for her sons to think about before heading off for bed. Then, Winry smiled sadly when she asked, "What else do you remember about your mom and the house!"

"A few things. I do have a couple of strong memories of my past!" Al sighed. His mind was trying to pull out a fragment of the past.

"Of what?" winry asked as she tried to look for the stars of the hunter.

"My mom's singing!" Ed said as he closed his eyes. He could hear his mother's voice, low and gentle.

"Did she sing to you and Ed a lot?"

"Yea…" Al nodded. He heard remember hearing a faint song in his mind. He tried to remember the song, yet there was no way of trying to catch the title or any of the words. He wanted to sing the words, yet his mother's voice too far to hear in his mind.

"What else do you remember?"

"Her smile…how she loved what me and Ed. She had a wonderful smile," al said. He wanted to remember his mother as long he could.

Winry gave Al a sidelong glance. She wanted to pry a little father with the questions. Yet, something in her mind told her to stop. She was going to complainant matters if she opened her mouth. She knew Ed and Al too much on their minds to be even thinking about what had happened in the past. They were more worried about the future. They had got the future back together again.

Al noticed the look on Winry's face. He asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…" winry sighed as she turned to look out at the street in front of the house. "I was just thinking about my own mum and dad!"

"Oh…you miss them?" Al asked. He turned a little to face Winry. When he noticed her eyes were clouded over, he began to wonder what will happen to them all.

Lust and Gluttony were now hiding out of all places a library. More or less they were hiding out in the basement. It was nit the perfect place to be at the time, yet there were many traps to be set. Lust was hoping to gently push the buttons on a certain young man just enough to drive him into a corner. Gluttony was on it just for the ride. He was just a mere puppet of Lust more or less.

Lust was lounging on a large old table, letting the shafts of moon light fall on her body as she tried to read by flash light a note that was quickly scribbled by Greed. Gluttony was playing with a small flat wooden dolly. He was pushing it around, finding it to his liking. He said, "The wheels go around and around!"

Lust was not happy with the situation she and gluttony had found themselves in. she knew Greed was suppose to show up and instructed them in a new detail. There was a lower grade of the philosopher's stone. A waste of time on finding it, yet with the right products of alchemy, the stone could be used. Lust's heart jumped as she heard a squeaking noise coming from the back of the room. She looked around to see a lone figure entering the room. She held her breath as the sound of footsteps began to echo in the lifeless room. She sat up bolt upright, very carefully. Her pulse slowed down to let the noise fill her ears. She wondered if she and gluttony were now caught by the army.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here!" a voice said in a low tone.

Caught off guard in a small way, Lust's eyes grew large as she carefully scanned the area for the owner of the voice. She wondered if someone was pulling a clever joke on her. Then, her idea came true. She noticed a dark figure standing at the end of the group of shelves. She wondered who it was.

"I'm going to bet you are just goofing off until that squirt kneels over," the voice said with a sneer in the tone.

When her eyes adjust to the figure standing the moonlight, Lust hissed with her lips semi-pursed, "Greed!"

The tall muscular figure stood in the moon light with a smile on his face. There was nothing to stop him. He started to walk towards Lust. Lust said, "What are you doing here?"

"That's a good question…" he said as he stopped. He placed a hand up to his chin. He thought about why he was there for a minute then, he said, "I just wanted to see that full metal runt in the hospital…where he belongs!"

"Your jerk!" Lust hissed as she turned her face away. Then, she bent it down just a little to glare at Gluttony. "Why are you putting your nose in where's not wanted!"

There was real vinegar in her words. She had a very bad taste of someone trying to horn in where they were not supposed to be and Greed knew it. He smiled sharply as if he was trying to hold his anger in. he said, "Why do you snap at me…I just want to be at the place in time where Edward Elric falls…that's my idea of fun…fun…fun!"

Lust shook her head. She believed that Greed had lost his mind. She just wanted to be there when Ed took the plunge into the dark side with all the power from the real Philosopher's Stone. Greed usually was there for the ride. He didn't want to watch Lust get all the glory.

"Beside…you did find a real bargain in that blue Philosopher's Stone."

Lust's demeanor changed. Her eyes narrowed in to hateful slits. She said coldly, "That's a very weak counterfeit. The real stones are red. That stone I am going to use is an amplificationstone. You know it!"

She placed a hand up to her forehead to rake over a few strains of hair. She was not happy with the interruption from Greed.

"All I want to do is see Ed and then, take off. I do not want to see old crow eyes. I have some work to be doing with Dante," Greed sighed. He placed his hands on his chest in order not to tip off Lust's anger even further. His smile turned a little sour when he thought of what Fruther Bradley would say to him if he happened to find out Greed's real intentions.

"I'm not going to push my luck. In fact, I'm just letting fate take Ed to where it every decides to take him to. Even if that brat ends up not dying, it would be fun to find out if he loses his mind over this!"

Lust was always backing off at the last minute. She didn't want to leave nothing to chance. She was her own person. She did want to see Ed suffer. Yet, was the point of not take a chance like the very one that was practically sitting on her lap at this time. Greed walked over to where Lust was now sitting up. She did know Greed up to something. His smile was not his normal dark one. This was deeper and it had bite to it.

Ed was now resting with another dose of the medicine that he was been receiving for the three days. He had been questioned by Roy about the latest news of the Philosopher's Stone. There was very few leads about the stone before Ed became ill. He hoped as he recovered to get back onto the road and quickly. There was so much to search for; it drove him mad with a hunger for knowledge. He had already discovered a very deadly twist to the making the

Philosopher's Stone. Would he be able to make another one with no human sacrifice?

Winry was keeping her distance from Roy who now set up camp at the following empathy room. To the doctor's dismay, Roy instanced on staying with Ed until Ed recovered. There was a hint of darkness creeping in this matter dealing with both Erlic brothers. He did not feeling very comfortable about the situating from the very first words he had heard about the sudden illness.

Roy was reading the letter that he received from Hughes. He sat on the edge the bed where the light from the ceiling was the strongest. He had been careful for any sounds of possible spies. He knew Winry was very can to him. He didn't like to mess with someone he knew very little about. He also had the feeling of guilty after he had found out about the people who he had shot were in fact Winry's mum and dad. He felt guilty for a long time. There was no way of getting around the fact. The words of apologize seem to stick in his gut and did not have a chance to be spoken. He could feel her eyes go right through him.

"I wanted to tell you for a long time about this," Hughes had written. He also had found out about a weakened philosopher's Stone. At first, he wouldn't believe it. There were too many fakes coming into Central that it made his head swim. Then, there was talk about people finding a stone that had the same sort of chemical reactions as the real, red philosopher's Stone. Yet, this was a weaker and different stone. It was used as an AMP stone in some cases. "Yet, there are still the hidden dangers of a fake stone that even I don't even know!"

Roy felt any icy chill gripping his neck. He knew something was a foot in this strange turn of events.

"Mama?" Ed murmured in a low tone of voice. He felt like his body was cold. He wanted to see his mother for another talk. He was frightened for the reasons of the unknown. His fight or flight feelings were ripping him from the inside out.

Roy placed the letter down his lap for just a minute. One hand ran up to his neck. He hated the cold as it ran down his spine. His hand worked at the collar to pull it up over his neck to prove a little more warmth. He glanced over at Ed. Ed was starting to get another fever. The fever he had never really went away entirely.


	3. Chapter 3

"Mama?" Ed murmured in a low tone of voice. He felt like his body was cold. He wanted to see his mother for another talk. He was frightened for the reasons of the unknown. His fight or flight feelings were ripping him from the inside out.

Roy placed the letter down his lap for just a minute. One hand ran up to his neck. He hated the cold as it ran down his spine. His hand worked at the collar to pull it up over his neck to prove a little more warmth. He glanced over at Ed. Ed was starting to get another fever. The fever he had never really went away entirely. It was like the virus was playing Ed like a song. Roy felt like screaming at Ed for being so stupid. Yet, it was not Ed's fault. Roy knew that Ed was just following order from the top.

"Mama?" Ed asked in a searching tone. Something was causing Ed to become frightened. The feeling of complete and utter helpless made Ed revert back to his childhood once again. In his mind everything was so totally peaceful that he dared himself to leave everything in the present for the past.

"Ed?" Roy whispered under his breath. He reached over to take Ed's free hand. It felt cold and stiff. His glance was softened just a little when he felt Ed's fingers flex just a little. He asked quietly, "What's wrong, Ed?"

Then, Ed quieted down. He was sleeping still in a fevered dream realm.

Lust had gathered up the last of her defenses. She had kidnapped a few villagers from the village where Ed and Al were staying at. She and Gluttony were camped out on the edge of town. She had taken steps on leaving no trails behind for the State Army to find. She had be extra careful that Ed wouldn't recover as quickly as she had first believed in. the poison he had felt going into his soul was a kind that lingered for days on end.

Gluttony had just finished off a large basket of apples. He had to be feed to keep him quiet. He was now playing with the basket, tossing into the air slowly. It was very lightweight and easily caught the wind.

Lust had to keep her options to herself about who really childlike Gluttony was. In fact, she wanted to make him a little bit manlier. Yet, that was like asking for the whole world to stop spinning. He was having too much fun.

She had lived out on the edge of town. She and Gluttony were moving back and forth from the library to the edge of town in the cover of darkness. There were townies who knew something was up with her and her traveling companion. She had to be totally careful with this town. They were not any easy push over like some other towns.

Gluttony said, "There goes the Basket…up to heaven!"

He had a large smile on his face. He noticed Lust sitting on a stool with her one hand underneath her chin. She had been thinking for a long while. Things were wolfing out good. Yet, how long was going to end.

"Gluttony?" she asked when she turned to see him playing with the basket.

He heaved the basket so quickly that he did not even stop. He said, "There it goes again!"

"What are you doing with that basket?" she asked as her eyes travel up to the sky. It spun out of control with the end result of being sped down to the thrower's hands.

"I'm having fun!" the overly large childlike man grinned without even looking at his friend. He tossed it up for another go.

"Good…at least one of us is having a good time!" she sniffed. Then, a thought hit her with a cold smack on the forehead. She had to see what and how Ed was doing. The idea of him being down was a good idea for now. Yet, she had to follow through. She had to give it some thought still. How was s he going to do it. The blue stone that she was using was easily pliable for the effect of causing a person's to become blind if he even came within a few feet close to it. She had to get in touch with the soldier who was user the state army. Then, she would go from there.

"Oh…there you are!" a deep voice said, gently.

Lust turned to see the Futher standing off to the side. He noticed that Lust and Gluttony were outside in front of a local café. He wanted to have a long talk with her. There was so much to go over with her. The use of a lower grade stone would set sparks off in the rest of the world. The world wasn't ready for unit just yet.

"Why you here?" she asked, casting her eyes downwards.

"You have no secrets with me!" he shook his head.

She pursued her lips into a frown. She hated the answer she got when the Futher spoke. She wanted to punch him for giving the wrong ideas about Ed or AL in the first place. She had been used as a fool by him.

"Look at me when I talking to you!" he sighed. He knew that his words had struck a raw cord with her.

"Why should I have to?"She asked coldly. "You have been a thorn in my side since I have here!"

"Too true…yet I have a wonderful idea that might help speed up Allophone's illness!" he smiled darkly. The wheels in his mind were quickly buzzing with active. What was going on with him?

Lust had to think things through with this one. She had a feeling of not jumping into this one with both feet. She had to obey orders even if she did not like them.

The Futher snorted softly with a half smirk on his lips. He said, "You wanted to see that little boy hurting?"

There was a catch in her mind. Lust wanted to stop and just ask a question, but what would be the right one.

"You have wanted to see him in pain for a long time. Very since the item he nearly finished out a large stone in the past."

"Why?" was her finally answer. Her eyes were now narrowed in a cold hard glare. She was playing Ed for a fool until Bradley came in to the picture.

"Lust…my dear…" he said with a smile. His hands rose to his chest as he spoke. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," she bit her lower lip quickly. She watered to lie and get out of his way as fast as she and Gluttony could leave. No strings on her when she had left before. Why now, she thought.

"You need to speak your mind!" he ordered. It was like he wanted to push her to the edge to see where she could have landed.

"Why?" she snapped back. "I have nothing to tell or hide. Why get my goat?" she turned to stare out on to the landscape.

"Just do want I you to do!" he smiled and walked away from the two. "Just be careful then!"

In a minute he was gone, leaving Lust to think harder on getting Ed to visit the other side a lot sooner.

Roy and Winry were trying to figure on how to be nice to each other. It seemed like it was going to be a long hull for the pair of them. Winry knew Roy was not fully responsible of her parent's death. Roy was just simply following orders.

The two sat uncomfortably at the table in the clinic during the breakfast meal time. They were at opposites ends in not only their beliefs but at the table as well. Winry was just about finished with her meal. She did not feel like speaking to Roy. Roy forced himself to speak. His face remained a mix of awkwardness and fear. He knew Winry had found out about the orders to keep the factions between the State and Resembool at peace. Her partners were doctors at the time after she was born. While Winry was living safely, they helped out with the medicinal aide of both sides.

"I'm leaving…I got something I have to do!" Winry said as she placed her tea cup on the table with a gentle movement of her hands. She had been holding it with both hands for a long time.

Roy knew that he was not like, did not say anything. There were no feelings towards this situation he believed. He was just following orders like a good solider shall. Roy wanted to got up and follow Winry to where ever she was going. Yet, he did not know where she was going to. His statements were so vague and general, it was painfully clear that he was just trying avoiding her all together. He sighed a little at his mistake as he thought, "What was I thinking?"

Ed was now trying to sit up and take some broth. He had a tray with large bowl soup. He felt weak and drawn. He wanted to get back for the search. He had a large dose of herbs. The bitterness of the taste made Ed's nerves reel with hate.

He could hear the birds chirping on an outside tree climb. He wanted to be outside with the birds. He knew that was impossible.

Al knocked on the opened doorway. He noticed that Ed was still trying to eat. He felt bad for his brother. It was less than two weeks of being with this strange fever like illness that faced Ed into the state he was in. He watched as Ed looked up and asked, "Al...What's wrong?"

"Nothing...brother!" Al lied.

"Are you telling me the turret?" Ed groaned.

Al didn't like to be placed on the spot like he did. Ed always was getting his goat. He said, "Why are you doing this to me?"

"What?" Ed asked. He placed the spoon down on the tray.

"I'm not lying to you!" AL sighed, he turned his face away. He knew Ed was at the end of rope. He wanted to pack it all in for good. He was not tired of Ed's attempts in getting this situating of taking his brother's body back from where it came from. He wanted to be human for so long, yet the roadblocks were growing into a large mound of pain.

"I think this is want Grandma Pinako told me when I was getting fitted for my auto-mail!" Ed sighed and gave his brother a watery grin. He was growing tried with everyday as he tried to get his strength back.

"What was it?" Al asked with a sour voice.

"That the life you are given is not yours. You have to make your life out of things in which you are given."

"mmh?" Al said before shaking his head. He wondered what was on Ed's mind. He came to talk about the future. Yet, the two ended up not talking about the future. They were headed for another fight. He had to stop it before it even got started.

Ed looked over at Al and said, "I'm still not known what she had said. Let's just say I am here to listen right now!"

"Oh?" Al said with a curious tone of voice. It was like Ed was trying to make peace for the pair of them. It was not easy. It was one of the bitter pills of life in which Ed knew just by the taste of it. AL wondered if Ed was just pulling his chain, but he had to listen.

"Where I do begin?" Ed wondered out loud, letting his mind go to a place he had always trouble in finding. "I had no idea why we ended up here of all places!"

"Are you sure, Central placed us for a way of getting us out of their hair…remember, we're just kids!" Al teased.

"Al…" Ed sighed as he tried to keep his eyes on his brother there was something going on with his sight when the day wore on "Roy is here. Why did Central place us in his care in the first place?"

"Maybe to teach us. We are still learning!" Al shrugged. He knew there was an answer, yet this was not the time. Then, he turned to see his brother trying to stare at him. It was like into he past when they were boys, still playing games. He began to feel a band of heat forming at a point on the back of Ed's head. He reached over to place a cool hand on between his left eye and check. He believed the fever was playing tricks on him.

Al noticed his brother touched his face. He asked quietly not to bring panic to Ed, "what's wrong?"

"I'm not sure..." Ed blinked hard. He leaned forward to get a better look at Al. Things were changing over to grays and blacks very quickly. The colours were draining away so quickly; Ed had a hard time noticing if Al was still there. "Al...Are you still there?"

"What...brother?" Al asked, watching everything unfold in front of him. He wondered if Ed was playing around. "I'm still here. Why?"

"I can't make out where you are at?" Ed said as he nearly fell over on the bed. His eyes were now straining so hard, it hurt.

"I am right here...what your problem is!" Al said as he began to lean forward. He noticed Ed blinking hard now. He stared at his brother for a minute before saying, "What are you doing?"

The words in Ed's mind were not forming fast enough. There was a heartbeat to heart beat speck of time that made Ed's mind try to speak. He said, "Al...Are you there?" he gasped, watching colours completely fade into nothingness. In a split second, the darkness took over. He tried to see his hand in front of his face. There was no hand for him to see. Ed was now complete and utterly blind. He cried out, "Al...Al...Al."

Then, he let loose a terrified scream of panic.

It seemed like years before Al could see Ed. Ed had realized that his sight was taken away from him. How was it done? Al wondered outside of the room. He had remembered the nurse who was in the hall. She had been attending to another patient's wounds. After hearing the scream coming from Ed, the nurse had ordered Al to leave the room.

Now Al stood in the hallway, staring at the door to Ed's room. He watched as the doctor rushed into Ed's room. Then, the door was slammed shut. Al was terrified at the outcome of this trip going from bad to worst. He said, "Why?"

He turned to see Roy standing at one end of the hallway. There was a clear sign of shock on Roy's face. What was going on with Ed? He had heard the screaming from the hall. He wondered if something did go wrong. He was very much right when he noticed the eyes of Al appearing to be very haunted.

"What's going on?" Wirny's voice questioned Al.

Al quickly spun around to see Winry standing in front of Ed's door. He tried to get there words out. His mind was quick, yet the rest was too slow to response. He stared at door for just a minute.

Roy asked himself, "What in the heck is going with Ed. Is he really going blind or is he just playing around."

He had to stop himself from getting on Ed. He kens that Ed was very ill with a fever. Yet, he did not want to be pulled around like he was just a jerky solider. He said, "When can we see him!"

Al felt all of his senses had left for only just a minute or two. He didn't want to leave. He had to stay with Ed at all times. Then, he managed to say, "We have to wait. The nurse told me that they are not sure to what to expect with Ed!"

"Shoot!" Roy grunted a little as he chin swilled a little. He still had his eyes fixed on Al. His lips were not in smiling or sad. His anger was beginning to bubble just a bit. He glanced over to where Winry was. She did not look good. Her fear could be felt. He had to keep his mouth closed. One wrong world in the wrong place, then it would be a distance for Roy. He excused himself before saying another word.

Roy quickly got out of the building. He walked quickly down the street. His anger was going to be controlled. He was still a hot head and he knew it all too well. He bit his lips as left foot hit a small rock in the middle of the side walk. He stumbled a little with the pain of the aching toes. He stopped in front of a shop. It was a shop that sold fabric and sewing supplies. It was very much out of Roy understands. He raised his foot to rub the shoe for just a minute. There was a woman into his shop who glanced at Roy through the shop window. She had been through a local skirmish with the local army. She had grown tired of seeing soldiers marching up and down the road. She wanted to end the war. She narrowed her eyes and in a loud whimpered said, "Army pig!"

Somehow Roy heard the statement. He raised his head as his foot went back down to the ground. He felt like he was slapped in the face. He wanted to say something to the effect of letting army out of her life would be a tragic loss, yet he kept his mouth shut.

He began to walk down the street once again. He heard the noise of a bell ringing for the evening prayers at a local temple. He stopped at a corner to watch a few kids kicking a can across the road. It bounced and clanked across the road. It did not surprise him at all. He watched a few more minutes longer before leaving down the road. He did not even smile at the slight. He had so much on his mind. There was no way of bringing a tiny bit of hope to him at now. Roy was just being Roy, an unfeeling creature who did not when to stop at any time.

Roy stopped in front of all places in front of a church. He was surprised at the slight which stood in front of him. He had never been to a house of worship before. He remembered as a small boy never even entering the House of God outside of being a school boy. The idea was strange to him. He stood there looking a sign which told of the hours of worship and other actives which took place inside. He had always a hard time getting use to people who went to church. He grew in a house that all was brought forth was army and the life that a solider must have. God or the church was just a stumbling block for his family. Roy never went to church unless to see a family had passed on. He stopped himself from reading. He felt a like a spy looking at something he shouldn't be seeing at the present time. Yet, the idea of God was like pins prink just above the neck. It felt sharp at first. He was going to leave the prick at his neck for the time. He felt hungry for warmth. He pushed on to another store front. This was a small walk in coffee house which stood at the corner of the street. It was detached from the church building.

"Are you going in?" a voice asked gently.

Roy felt like throwing in the towel and leaving for another post. This was a worst case of stale mate there was. He turned to see an elderly couple standing at the steps pouf the church. He said, "Maybe?"

"Ahh! That's good!" the old man smiled. He was dressed in a plain brown suit of clothes. He noticed Roy's uniform. He asked, "Are you on leave, son?"

"How odd?" Roy thought. He watched as the old woman fixed her hat. She wore a faded pink suit dress. She looked like someone grandma on a visit. "Maybe!" he glanced up at the old weather beaten door.

"Well, we would like it if you came in. There's a potluck after the service..." the old man said before he was cut off by his wife.

"Robert!" the old woman scolded her husband with a smile.

A little perturbed at his wife's speaking up, he said as he turned to face his wife, "You know that Garrison had a big pot of venison soup."

"I know that, Robert!" his wife said. They both looked at Roy.

The man read Roy's mind and quickly understood that Roy needed some cheering up to do. "It would you do you some good. Come on in. The pastor is very nice!" The man smiled deeply.

"And his wife is great one for listening!" the old man's wife added.

How can he not say no? He felt like this old couple was his grandparents. He remembered a little of his grand mother and father from when he was a child. Yet, he was a now a grown man. How could he slip back to the warm and comfortable place called the pass for one day? He was going to let the pass live for one more day. He walked up to the old woman. He smiled, bringing up his arm for a sign that he was going to escort the old woman into the church.

After the service, Roy followed the older couple down the stairs to a long room. He noticed how plain everything was. He smelt a warm scent of meat still cooking. There were a few older women who were getting the last touches of the meal when he stood off to the side. He said to a young boy who was off to the same side as Roy, "Have they been here long!"

"I'm not sure...I got here myself just before my mom and dad. They help clean the church!" the young boy said.

Roy noticed the young man suit and tie. It was a real thing to see a young boy dressed in a suit. Roy said, "Oh, do they like it?"

"Sometimes. There is a ton of work to be done and I have no idea where they are at the time!" he said.

"I hope they are close by. I hope they are not lost!" Roy said. Then, Roy and the young man were told by a teenage girl to come over to a table. Supper was going to start any minute!

Roy did what was told to do. He was quietly watching the others who came down for supper and service as the people were getting ready for fellowship.

Roy was now leaving the church. He had nice and peaceful meal with complete strangers. He felt a little out of place with the church goers at first. Yet he was happy at the end. He had to hurry to get back to the clinic.

It began to snow and hard. The wind snaked icily up the path leading up to the clinic. Roy caught his breath. He wondered if this was the worst winter he had seen in a long while. He had to stay put until Ed got better. He knew Ed was too ill to be moved. He was not going to change it.

As he climbed the stairs to the main entrance way, Roy noticed the sign. It read when the visitor's hours were suppose to be obverse. Yet, he was not family to either Ed or Al. He was their commanding officer. He reached over to make a grab for the door handle. He heard Winry's voice coming from the inside. He heard her voice sounding like she was going to lose another night's sleep if Ed was not going to make it. Was she over reacting on her part?

He opened the door to see Winry and Al sitting on a bench. Roy wondered what was going on with Ed. He asked, "Is Ed O.K.?"

"He's still asleep!" Al sighed.

Roy did not speak for a minute or two. He wondered if this was the right time to ask about Winry. He had start somewhere with his apologizes. He knew that Winry was holding a grudge ion him. He forced himself to ask, "What about you, Miss!"

At first Winry was surprised to hear Roy asking her anything. She hated him for what had done to her family. Yet, he was using his sympathy for her. She looked at him for just a minute before speaking. She said, "I just wish he was not sick. I wish he was back him with me and my grandma!"

Her voice was weary of everything. She felt her heart ache for just a minute before biting her lower lip. It was her way of searching for the next words to say.

"Sorry!" Roy said, beating her to the punch. The words stung him hard. He winced as he tried to think about a word or two in his defense.

"Yet, is not going to happen...right!" she asked as she turned her face away from him. She knew he was just following order, no matter how rotten they were.

"Look...I was called in. Ed is very valuable for us at this time. If we don't get this problem solved, then its more lives lost. Can you be that heartless?" He pointed his anger at her.

She did not have the time to come back in a quick manor. She was not a soldier. There was no amount of training that would help her in the situation of taking someone else's life. She breathed out slowly, letting the words drive in the pain even further.

Al was going to speak his peace and tried to save face all the same time. He said, "Sir?"

"What is it, Al?" Roy asked he was growing tired of this tension he had found himself in at the time.

"You go and get some rest. I'll be staying up..." Al said. Then, he was interrupted by Winry when she told him that she was going to stay with Ed. Her eyes were full of pained anger. She did not want to stand in his way at first, yet she deeply loved Ed since they were children. "Are you sure... I don't sleep like you do. I promise he will be in good hands!"

"Al...You have been by his side for a long while. You need to take a break!" Winry said as she placed a hand on Al's right arm.

"If things get out of hand, then what will happen to the pair of you?" Roy asked. He was thinking of himself and the way he wanted things to be right by him. It was hard to clear himself in front of Winry.

"Hey!" she interrupted with a glare in her eyes. "I can take care of myself!"

"Yes...you can!" Roy sighed; he pushed back a lock of hair from his eyes which managed to fall into his eyes. "What about Ed. He needs special care. Even after he gets out if he does!"

"Give me a few minutes to think!" Winry uttered her anger started to cool down a little when she thought of Ed. He was ill beyond her knowable and skill. She was sitting upright, glaring at this man who was an army officer. Then, she noticed that he had changed his look. It was not scary, but more of fear towards the unknown. She said, "I can understand what you are thinking. How about me and Al...Don't we count?"

"Yes, you two do...for now we need to pull together and help Ed out!" Roy said.

It seemed like weeks instead of days. Ed was still not use to be blind. He felt the darkness hitting him at all sides. He knew just by feeling around the bed sides that the mattress was high off the ground. He knew his eyes were masked by a cotton band. He was ordered by the nurse not to play or take it off. He grumbled at the nurse, telling her in which he knew better. He was not a little child.

He had now a cane resting at the side of the bed. He was given a series of learning periods with the teacher from a nearby village that ran a school for the blind. Having the teacher gently, patiently instructing Ed on the finer points of can use, Ed could go around his room slowly.

The outside was another story that was so different. Ed had to be willing to give up some of his boldness in order to have someone help him. It was like the time he was young. It was like the time he had used the forbidden ways and least his limbs. He nearly bled to death on the account.

"Are you willing to grow stronger in another way?" the doctor questioned Ed after the blindness had settled in.

"Maybe!" Ed gasped. The shock of the loss with his eye was still like a hot iron piercing his mind. "I want to think about it first, sir!"

The words seemed like the bitterness of sorrow. He felt like going mad and he did not care who was there at the time.

"Don't take up too much time, son!" the teacher uttered. There was so much to be had in finding out what was going on in Ed's mind.

"What?" Ed snapped back at his new teacher.

"I just want to be plain with you!" he said.

"Look...I'm still new to my world of being a solider!"

"And your blindness equally part of a new world!"

Was this teacher trying to be easy with Ed? Nothing was easy with him. He hated his father for leaving the family behind. The idea of the illness which took his mother's life made him grieve even more. The army, Roy veering was tossed at him with lighting speed. Even learning the fine tuned ideas of being an Alchemist from Izumi was all too great for Ed to grasp when he was still a child. He wanted to have a normal life. Yet, how it was that he and his brother Al were throttled at back him with a brick wall force.

"New world. How many times do I have heard that weak-kneed statement?" Ed huffed throwing his arms up it not the air.

The two were sitting at a small table in Ed's room. He was trapped into the room with a new table. He yearned for his sight to be back. His blindness was so new, it scared him. He did want to find the stone and return his brother's body back. He toyed with the idea of even bringing his mother back to life. It was huge order to fill. He reasoned with himself that a man can dream if he dared himself to.

"What are you going to do, Ed?" the teacher asked.

"I have to listen to you for a little while," Ed sighed. He knew that he to learn everything there was to know about the use of his other senses.

"O.k." the teacher said with a little revised reissuance. He was going to use Ed with kid gloves. He knew Ed had a chip on his shoulder. He noticed Ed was dressed in a plain blue shirt and pants. It was in order to not bring attention to such a special guest like Ed. Ed felt the rough patches of the table top. It was used so many times; Ed wondered how old this table was. "First... I want you to get up and come with me!"

At first, Ed was baffled and a little scared. He wondered if he should come with the teacher. "Hey..." he began to say.

"Henry!" the teacher ordered him.

"Henry!" Ed followed the teacher's voice in a quiet tone.

"Stand up and move!"

"Where?"

"First off. I want you to be alert. There are a few things you must be able to understand. I'll be moving some things around into he room at first."

Ed was shocked a little bit with the eider. What was going with his teacher? Henry was going to use a bit of new training that he had [picked up while he was in another part of the country.

"Then, what do you want me to do?" Ed asked, warily. He had as feeling it was something out of the norm for him.

"Just take your cane with you...I will tell you want you need to think ahead. You need to listen, smell and feel the outside world. It's completely different to the world with your eyesight!"


	4. Chapter 4

"First off. I want you to be alert. There are a few things you must be able to understand. I'll be moving some things around into the room at first."

Ed was shocked a little bit with the eider. What was going with his teacher? Henry was going to use a bit of new training that he had picked up while he was in another part of the country.

"Then, what do you want me to do?" Ed asked, warily. He had as feeling it was something out of the norm for him.

"Just take your cane with you...I will tell you want you need to think ahead. You need to listen, smell and feel the outside world. It's completely different to the world with your eyesight!"

"What are you driving at?" he asked.

"Nothing…if you can see perfectly well without any sort of help for the time…then, my job is done!" Henry muffled a little hurt.

Ed heard the noises of a chair being pushed out and moved over to one side. He wondered what was going on. He felt the table being tugged at for a minute. He asked, "What are you doing?"

"Just mixing up the room….I want to you to be on your toes. Remember you are a State Alchemist!" Henry said in matter a fact tone. He moved a large plate and cup for Al to eat off onto the table. He knew that Al needed to be taught on how to eat as the first step on his road back to himself. He watched as Ed tried to find the table with the use of the walking staff. He found the table very quickly. He tried to pull at the edge of a chair with a free hand.

"What are you putting in front of me?" Ed asked. He could hear the plate being shifted in front of him.

"It's just a plate and some silverware!" Henry said.

"What?" he asked quietly. He was slightly put out when he was given the order to eat. He didn't want to start off with what he believed something hard.

"Aren't you event he least hungry?" Henry asked he had a cloth in front of him. He was pulling out a few odd bits of tableware. There was another bag from a local diner. He had ordered a very basic bowl of soup and some pudding. Pulling out the glass bowl of soup Henry said, "There is some lovely beef soup just waiting to be eaten!"

"What?" Ed questioned for a second time. He knew that he had been trying to feed himself with a nurse's or Winry's help. He ended up spilling the food on the bed. Then, the nurse or Winry had to feed him. "Are you sure about this…" Ed was backing out of this attempt on feeding him.

Henry wanted to laugh and hard. He was going to be slow and gentle with Ed. He said, "Are you full of what today!"

"What?" Ed gasped for a third time. He wanted to scream, kick the table, and do something that was typical of him. He was now being pulled out of sorts with Henry's joking around. He said, "Are you going to teach me anything or are you just here for the laughs?"

Henry smiled as he took in a large breath. He said, "You need to loosen up…you are way too serious."

"Serious. Me, you are telling me that I am too serious. I have just lost my sight. Not too long ago I lost my brother more or less and my left arm and right leg." His anger was now to the boiling point. He took a large sweep of his hand. It clashed into the bowl which sent it flying to floor. The hot soup did make contact with Ed wrist. He felt stinging droplets of soup melting into his wrist. He flinched hard which made his eyes hurt even more. The pain causes Ed to gasp in fear.

"Easy…there," Henry said as he heard the door being opened. A young nurse stood in the door way. Henry asked, "Can you get me a burn kit!"

The young nurse asked, "A burn bit?"

"Yes. There is hot soup and glass everywhere," Henry sighed. He tried not to move. He wanted to also have some rags and a mop to clean up the mess.

"What happened?" Winry's voice could be heard outside. She stood in the hallway. When Ed was being trained by Henry, she or Al was not allowed to near Ed. He needed to focus on his studies.

Henry said in a soothing tone of voice, "we just had little set back. That's all!"

"A little set back?" Winery asked. She wanted to see him. "Did he drop something?"

"In a way yes. He knocked over a bowl of soup…I was in a rush didn't realized that the bowl was near the edge of the table. He had mistakenly knocked it over. That's all…" Henry lied to cover up Ed's outburst.

Ed was surprised to hear Henry was covering up for him. Why was this stranger being so nice to him? He sat back slowly, letting sink in the feeling of surprise covering his mind. He heard the nurse coming back into the room. He gritted his teeth, bracing himself for the treatment and what else which was going to lay ahead for him.

It was days of learning and unlearning for Ed. Ed had tasted the wind and water as it rained outside. Henry had been teaching him how to walk with the use of the cane. He was happy to hear the outside world for a long time. Yet, he was still upset with himself. Winry had helped Henry with the prep of the food on the table. She was told on how Ed should eat. He was ordered on how his food was laid out for him on the table. He wondered what was going to happen at first. He was slow in learning. He did not want to burn himself again.

When he heard Al coming up to him as the two brothers stood on the porch, Ed said, "What are you doing to do?"

"Nothing. You are ready to go for a walk?" Henry asked with a question of possibility in his voice.

"Maybe. I'm not sure if I can do this one on my own," al sighed. He was a little frightened to hear and sense what he was going to do.

"Let's eat first…and then, I want to take a walk in the halls. You have been doing well on your own for while."

"That's what you say" Ed sighed. He knew that there was a catch to Henry's idea. He had to do what his teacher ordered him to do. He felt like he was back on the island with his brother when they were just boys. He heard the door opening up and someone coming in. he asked, "Who's there?"

"You are quickly!"Henry completed Ed.

"Thanks…" Ed sighed wearily. He knew that his hearing was getting sharper with the loss of his eyes. This was something he had heard about, but not experienced before. He was going to use his hearing carefully and not take it for granted.

"Brother?" Al asked gently. He was curious on what Ed was learning. He knew how Ed must have felt about the loss of his eyes. He knew the feeling of the loss of his whole body was. He watched slowly his own brother break away a little each time with a loss of a part of his body. He said, "Are you hungry?"

Ed's head jerked a little upwards. He wanted to hear everything that was going around him. he knew Al was standing in the opened doorway. He said, "What is there to eat?"

"The nurse had made some stew!" Al said.

"Stew?" Ed sighed with his thoughts drifted quickly back to his child hood. He knew that was only thing his mum would make with milk. He hated milk, but he liked stew. He said, "O.K."

Ed did not want to go any further. This was something he had talked over with Henry. Henry gave him a talking to about this bullheaded ways. It could make healing that much slower if he would dug his heels in. "I would like to ask Henry a question, if you don't mind, Al!" Ed said.

"Sure…" Al said.

"Henry…" Ed asked with a spark of hope in his voice.

"What?" Henry turned to see Ed sitting up with his face turned to hear. It was first time that Ed was going to be listening for a change. Henry asked, "What can you hear, Ed?"

"Uh?" Ed uttered. His eyes tried to move a little. He found out he still could not use them even with a thick wad of cotton pressing down on them. Then, he slowly let his hearing take over. There were birds singing off to the side in a high tree. He could not see where they were at. He slowly trend around to hear where they were at. He said, "I hear birds. They are noisy!"

"Good…and what else?" Henry wanted Al to get use to the idea of being sightless.

"The wind…my breathing," he said. He was growing instantly weary of being quizzed about his surroundings.

"And what else?"

Ed wanted to find Henry and smack a good one on Henry's face. He said, "Will you quit. I haven't got the time for twenty questions."

Henry giggled a little as he said, "O.K. now, I want you to use your cane, Ed. Find your brother!"

"What?" the two Elric brothers gaped. They wondered if Henry had lost his mind. He was going to force Ed to stretch out with is hearing.

"That's too easy!" Ed snapped coolly.

"I am suit of armor, sir!" Al said, puzzled.

"I wanted to start off easy," Henry said as he glanced at young man who was now learning.

"And why?" Ed asked, with a raised eye brow. He knew that he was being pushed gently into a world of sound instead of sound and sight.

"You must learn how to crawl before you walk. I learned that myself in a way!"

"Uh?" Ed and AL asked in union. Why was Henry being so mysterious?

"I had a younger sister who in now living somewhere else. She was born blind. I had to be her eyes!"

"You were her eyes for a long time, sir?" Al asked innocently.

"Yes I was!" Henry sighed. He remembered on how he reacted at first of seeing his sister sitting up in her crib.

A quiet murmur of his feelings softening a little was starting to affect Ed's persona. He knew how families were. He had mixed feelings for his father who had left him behind. He wanted to thrust with his father about everything. He wanted to tell about his mother dying on him and Al. they were too young to understand fully. That was in the past; Ed needed to focus on the present. Ed said, 'I hope you were good other!"

Henry had an instant flash back of talking to his mother about his sister, Dorothy Anne. He remembered how he used to tease her about her name. Then, she would asked, "What were spots?"

This was when he would say, "Spotty Dotty!"

He would stop singing to tell her about spots. He would sit on the ground with her and make her trace with her hands around circle. Then, he watched her reaction to the making of circle in the dirt. She was surprised at first. She smiled with the session of the warm dirt running past her finger tips. She gasped after she had finished.

Henry remembered her smile as he came back to the present. He said with a sigh, "Now. You need to keep all of the rest of your senses focused…"

Then, he turned to see Al standing, "Yes…I was good to my sister. She was my only friend for a long…enough of that for now."

The night was growing colder for Ed. He realized he had the window opened. He needed to close the window if wanted to sleep. He slowly used his cane to make his way to the window. He let his other senses guide him to the window. He heard the night noises of the outside world. It was nothing to him when he had sight. Things were different in all manner of speaking. When he was about to reach up to close the window, he heard someone talking. At first Ed had dismissed as a couple of people on a late night walk. There was nothing to anyone in a small town who wanted to walk at night.

"I want to see Edward in his most weakest!" a feline voice purred darkly.

Ed felt a cold snap racing down his back. He knew it was. It was Lust talking to other person. He tried not to draw attention to himself. It would be like walking into his own death if he had even breathed heavy. He courted in his mind the minutes of her talking. He had to know she was with.

"There are no more excuses…getting a hold of that brat and kill him…" another voice hissed coldly. "We are waiting time!"

Ed nearly stopped berthing. He wanted to scream out in fear. He had to remain calm as he listened to Lust and another voice who he did not know of. He bite his lower lip hard so much that he could taste the burning blood on the tip of his tongue. He had shut his mind out what the mind.

"and you can finish the job…do it quickly!" the voice said.

"Why are they groping to kill me?" Ed thought. The thought of dying made Ed sick to the point he backed away from the window. He wanted to find Al and winery. He had to tell them about, but how. He knew if he made the slightly noise, he would bring attention to himself. He had to hold it all in as he waited for a while.

Then, he felt his leg buckle under him. Then, he hit he floor with a soft thud. He had forgotten that he had a rug ion the room. He smelt the rug's yarn when he realized where he had ended up. A second or two, he wondered if he had blacked out when he hit the floor. He gasped in pain. Why was the blackout happened so fast? Was it the pills that he was taking to help win back his sight? He did want to question the idea, but this was not the time.

"What was that's?" Lust asked when she heard the noise.

He tried to search for his cane. Ed was totally defenseless without his sight. He wanted to scream. He quickly, scrambled backwards toward his bed. He did not realize he was falling onto the bed. Somehow he thanked whoever was pulling the strings that night. He felt so weak, so alone.

"What was that?" lust's voice asked as a figure came up to the window edge. It was the second attempt to find whoever was making noise.

Ed had quickly warped himself in a blanket. It was his only line of defense. He remains still with his face nearly covered up. He knew that it was too dark to see anyways. He felt his heart racing hard. He knew if he was caught, then he could end up dead.

"Why are you here?" a voice rang in Ed's mind.

Ed felt his heart to hurting badly. He wondered if his fear was causing it. Fear was a great monster in all people. He had to let thing pain go, but how.

Lust noticed outside of an opened window, the room was dark. She tried to walk over to see if she could notice anyone inside of the room. No such luck with even peering in. the room was too dark to see even a small glimmer of hallway light coming from the doorway.

"What are you looking at, Lust?" Gluttony asked before placing a finger to his lips. He wondered why Lust was so curious about this one room.

"Nothing," she growled slowly as she puckered her lips to one side.

"Oh," gluttony asked with a strange glance at the window. He could smell a person in the room. Yet, he did want to make Lust mad if he decided to give the person inside of the room a good scare.

She said, "I'm must be jumpy. This town is very strange!"

"Lust...just be careful. These people are old fashion. They don't like new comers peeking into their widows late at night!" a voice said.

Feeling like she was at dead end, Lust sighed, "Yes...you are right!"

"Please go now!" Ed thought. "I want to go back to the old days just once!"

Lust looked at the window before leaving. There was peace which was calming Ed into a sleepy lull. His mind thought one last time before his body felt a nothing less of dream-filled realms. He said in his mind, "I must be the one they are after. Lust is bound and determined to make my life a living night mare before I die!"

Then, he slipped into a void.

Lust had left the area and was going to call it night. She knew Ed had to be in this town. It was simple in her planning. She had used certain people as puppets. The fake philosopher's stone was culled to perfection. Every last detail was thought through to the end. It should have been prefect, Although, there was a slight error to the idea. How could Ed not see or even sense this prefect storm. The person who was given the task of thinking of taking Ed's sight had to be a willing pawn. She was a clever girl who knew the ins and outs of what drove some men crazy with a passionate thirst for living.

"Why did I run amiss in finding that runt!" lust thought to herself. There was nothing she could point out in her thinking. It had to be a flaw in somewhere.

"Lust?" Gluttony asked as he followed her down the street. His lumbering pace was completely ignored by Lust. She had been nearly half trotting down the street. He whined a little, trying to get her attention, "Lust?"

"Uh?" she said in a half gasped. She was so lost in her thoughts; she had a hard time in getting back to reality.

"Are you o.k." he asked with a sad smile. He noticed the frustration in her eyes. Any feeling that made Lust act on anyway would in some way effect Gluttony.

"Yea…" she sighed, placing a hand up to her chin. She felt cold and empty. There was no thrill in the hunt for the night. She felt wore to the nub. Having the emotion of needing rest from there night, she said, "Let's go."

Lust wanted to start the whole thing over again. She had to find out where the flaw was. Yet, she had to be careful. There was talk about her from the others. She was slipping on the job.

"Lust...are you going to find that Relic boy?" Gluttony asked with a curious glance.

"I will and soon!" she huffed as she began to march towards the house she and Gluttony were staying at. There was much work to be done.

Lust was now alone with her thoughts as she looked at the window as it reflected the night sky. The blackness was a complete glaze of stars and the moon. There was no ring around it, just a passing cloud or two as the night wore on. She was in a bed and breakfast with Gluttony a few streets over from the clinic. She took a room for herself. Leaving Gluttony to fend for himself in the next room.

"Where did I go wrong?" she asked herself. She had a thin blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She sat on a bed with her feet just hanging over the edge just a little. She had no idea on how to clear her mind. She tried to close her eyes to let sleep take over. There was not even a nibble of sleep for her.

The window was on opposite side of her. She had to stop staring at the moon. Yet, the moon seemed like an old friend, just waiting for her to speak.

"I just wish there was a guide to this," she sighed, feeling her mind ache. She had not a clue to this mess up in her palms.

The moon was now being covered up on a cloud bank. Lust watched with her mind deep in thought. She had to sleep just a little to clear up the thoughts of the day. She lay on her side slowly. With her eyes aching shut, she found herself puzzled to the point of taking in just the sight of the moon and nothing else.

The next morning seem like a confused state of dreams instead of realty. Ed had no idea what had happened to him from the previous night. He tried to piece everything in his mind and it turned out to be like an unfinished puzzle for him. He slept for nearly extra hours if only Al had not shown up into eh early morning. He felt cold hands on the bottoms of his feet while he was still sleeping. It did not dawn on him he was sleeping with his feet sticking out on edge of the bed.

He woke up with a start and loud yelp. He tried to open his eyes in the sleepy confusion. He heard Al saying, "Don't move so fast or far!"

"Wha?" he gasped. He could feel his feet dangling from the edge of the bed.

"You were sleeping a little weird!"Al said in a calming voice. He knew that Ed was sleeping in the middle of the bed with his feet dangling at the edge.

"What?" he groaned with kick to his brother opened palm. He was now upset with his outcome from the previous night.

"Were you cold, weren't you!" Al asked. He had to help out his brother in any way possible. He sighed as he tried to help Ed to sit up.

"I don't remember!"

"You can't!" his brother asked. He knew that there was nothing holding him back if he wanted to see again.

"What is going with me?" Ed sighed. He felt like giving up. He had a gagging feeling of not being pushed. He knew about a possible doing away with him. Was he, Ed going to let him.

Fate had another twist.

The days were piling up for Ed. He had learned very quickly on his skills. He could tell the different pitches of noise. The use of the tools at his dispose was easily placed upon by Henry. Henry was a good teacher. He could be a little harsh at times with the teaching. Yet, Ed was no normal student.

Henry went to a local bookseller for a set of books. He had contacted a teacher from a neighboring town to make up some books in brailed for Ed to use in his reintroducing Alchemy back into his life. Ed could use the circles with a piece of chalk and his eyes as he drew on the ground. This was going to be a proving ground for him. Without sight, how could Ed remain strong in his powers? Sightless Alchemists were rare.

Ed and Al were out for a walk. It was a long while they since they were alone in the world and not a care that went along. They needed some time to readjust what or where they were going to if Ed was completely blind. Ed was strong enough just a walk down the block and down to a small park. They were coming back within a few minutes.

Ed used his cane as he walked along with the sidewalk. He heard his Brother Al's steps. They were loud enough for Ed. He said, "What do you think we can do at this rate…"

"What do you mean, brother?" Al asked as he turned his face to look his brother. He knew that Ed was trying to be brave. This was the contact feeling of Ed pushing himself until he had hit a wall.

"You need to ask me that question?" Ed grumbled.

"I was just a little wondering in my mind!" al said with a shy glace at his older brother. There a minute of quiet. The wind started to dance around the two in a gentle way. He said, "I have been always looking out for you!"

"And what does that mean?" Ed poked back at Al. he knew that Al was just pulling his chain a little.

"We're brothers. We've always looked out for each other. Mom wanted us to do so!" Al said. He knew and understood he should look after his brother if need to. He was not going to let anyone hurt his brother.

"Mom had an idea that she was leaving us someday?" Ed asked. He knew that he was still too young to understand what was going on with his mother.

"She didn't tell us before she had a minute to ask anyone to look out for us!" Al uttered, he reflected at the time Trisa was carrying the illness which cost her life. She knew about the time she had left. She had to tell her two sons sometime. She did not have the will to break their hearts at such a young age.

"And does that make any difference now?" Ed asked. He was no longer the young boy; he was growing into a troubled man.

"And we stood by in our world as it fell apart like it does!" Al sighed. His mind felt like a long ache which was shoved back to the end of his memoires was coming back. It was the time he had to take his brother to Wirny's house. He felt terrified at when they had done with their foolish attempt. He had to let his brother die like he died. Everything was a complete and utter bluer.

Then, out of his fear after watching his own brother nearly bleeding to death, Al took Ed to Grandma Pinako. Ed had a rough and long road to recover from the night of trying to bring back his mother from the grave.

"That happened when we let it happen. Remember we are still learning!" Ed corrected his brother on the reason why they had fallen on their faces.

"That's right. We were too young to even understand why are mother had died on us…and without even seeing father," al gasped with sorrow.

"Don't say that jerk's name!" Ed said. He felt anger bubble up on side of him. He began to walk a little faster, dragging his cane with him. He did not realized what he was doing to himself as he walked.

"Stop, brother!" Al begged as he raised a hand up to try to make Ed halt in his tracks.

"No…I'll not stop for anyone…not even you…" Ed hissed through his teeth. There was a feeling of hot tears which were forming very quickly. The medicine he was given daily was mixing with the tears. He nearly missed a lamp post as he nearly began to run down the street. He felt a terrible ache in his heart.

"Ed!" AL's voice sounded harsh. He wanted his brother to stop before he hit the curb. Ed was always having a reckless streak in him. He had to be the one who had a great deal of sensibly in his mind. It seemed at times Al was the acting like the older one while Ed was acting like the child. There was still a great deal of growing up to do on Ed's part. He was getting out hand for Al.

"Edward!" a voice nearly barked out.

At first, Ed was wondering who it was. He stopped in his tracks and used his hearing to look around. His lungs were now burning from the running he was doing. It found, it sounded so much like Roy, it scared him.

"Are you trying to kill yourself!" the voice demanded.

"No…I just want to see mom…I want to see you…I want to have my sight back!" he said. He felt the hot stinging tears that where forming now. He nearly so lost in his thoughts, he did not realized he was running into Henry. He felt the hands of a man who was going to bring hymn back to earth.

"What are you doing?" Henry gasped as he made a grab for Ed. He was going to hold in order to stop him from running into a blind wall.

"I am running away from this madness!" Ed screamed. He was now shaking hard as felt his body being ripped apart from his should out.

"You can't just do what are you pushing yourself away!" Henry said. He was now holding Ed rightly to make sure Ed was now going to hurt himself.

"Why can't I…I'm a dog solider!" Ed hissed. He tried to figure out where Henry was. He was going to start to punch the air with heated furry. He was out and out mad at the whole world. "What is one more life…"

Henry watched and backed away from Ed. Ed was out of his mind with hate. Henry had to be very careful with this one.

"You just don't how I feel too, brother!" Al sighed with all the pain and hurt which bubbled in his voice.

"Get lost…you looser!" Ed huffed. He had to shut down everything. He loathed being stuck in this blackened world of being blind. He knew he was now unable to do anything. He was being to lash out with bitter results.

"Stop it, Ed!" a voice sounding so cold and demanding, it took him by surprise. It was not Al or Henry who was ordering him about. It was Roy. Roy had stepped out for a while to send some telegrams back to Central. He noticed Al and Henry trying to reason with Ed. Ed was growing upset with the outcome. The time spent trying to retool a stubborn boy was not going anywhere.

"What…the…" Ed gasped before he felt a hand slapping against his left cheek. He was now stunned at the slap. If he could see Roy's face, he would be in shock. Roy was not happy at all. He wanted to make Ed back the way he was. There was no way now for any form of wishful thinking. Roy had been growing weary of Ed's illness.

"Grow up…Edward!" he ordered. His tactic of ordering Ed to be a man had been the entire long his own way of controlling Ed.

"Go to…" Ed hissed. He wanted to punch Roy out. He made a grab for any part of Roy.

Roy was going to make it easy for Ed by grabbing him. He held the young man by arms length. He said, "Are you making yourself even worst!"

"I want to go back…" he uttered loudly. He remembered all the painful past in a quickened flash back replaying in his mind's eye.


End file.
